17 And Joseph saw that his father had laid his right hand on Ephraim's head; and he was sorry for it. And he took his father's hand, to put it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh;

18 And Joseph said to his father, 'Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.

19 But his father would not consent, and said, 'I know, my son, I know; and from him shall come a nation, and he shall be great; but his younger brother will be greater than he, and from his seed will come a great nation.

20 And he blessed them in that day, saying, 'Israel shall bless thee, saying, May God do unto thee as to Ephraim and Manasseh.' And he set Ephraim above Manasseh.

21 And Israel said to Joseph, 'Behold, I am dying; and God will be with you, and will bring you back to the land of your fathers;

22 And I give thee, chiefly before thy brethren, a certain portion, which I took out of the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.

Chapter 49

1 And Jacob called his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, and I will declare to you what will happen to you in the days to come;

2 Come together and hear, O sons of Jacob, hear Israel your father.

3 Reuben, my firstborn! Thou art my strength, and the firstfruits of my strength, the height of dignity and the height of might;

4 But thou hast raged like water, thou shalt not prevail, for thou hast ascended upon thy father's bed, thou hast defiled my bed, on which thou hast ascended.

5 Simeon and Levi are brothers, their swords are instruments of cruelty;

6 Let not my soul enter into their counsel, and let not my glory be joined to their assembly: for in their anger they killed a man, and cut the sinews of the calf at their wit.

7 Cursed be their wrath, for it is cruel, and their wrath because it is fierce; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.